NORTH CANTON, Ohio—The 2016 Bellarmine volleyball team passed its first major test of the season today with a five-set victory over Fairmont State at the Walsh Cavalier Classic, winning the early morning match by a final score of 25-20, 16-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-11. The Knights then came back with a convincing sweep (25-7, 25-9, 25-16) of Glenville State it their afternoon match.
"Today was a great day for our program," said Bellarmine Coach
Jenni Grzebin. "We found ourselves in some tough situations against some great competition, but we were able to execute when we needed it the most."
In the preseason, Grzebin had said one of the goals for this year's team was to finish stronger, and the Knights did exactly that. After struggling in five-set matches a year ago, Bellarmine is 1-0 so far this season.
"We battled every point and never counted ourselves out today," Grzebin said. "I'm extremely proud of our entire group and the way we finished the weekend."
Junior
Hayden Dailey led a balanced attack in leading the Knights past the Fighting Falcons of Fairmont State with career highs in both kills and digs with 15 and 19 respectively.
Margaret Horihan also posted a double-double with 12 kills and 19 digs while senior
Ashley Jefferson hit .357 in recording 14 kills. Sophomore
Lydia Lange also had a solid match with nine kills and an attack percentage of .333.
The Bellarmine attack was fueled by three different setters. Junior
Allie Muha logged the most time and recorded 31 assists on the day while setters
Abby Biggs and
Teyah Leinenbach also saw action tallying nine and five assists respectively.
On defense, libero
Jordyn Kuchenbrod also posted a career high with 35 digs.
In the Glenville State match, Grzebin went deeper on the bench and got solid results throughout. Lange and
Aurryella Mason led the attack with eight kills apiece while
Kendall Barrett and
Katie Adams added six each.
Bellarmine, which is now 4-0 on the season, returns home to host the Holiday Inn Airport East Fair/Expo Center Kickoff Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10. The Knights will again play four matches in two days, facing off against St. Mary's (TX), West Georgia, Alderson Broaddus, and Ohio Valley.
BU-FAIRMONT BOX SCORE (HTM)
BU-GLENVILLE BOX SCORE (HTM)
